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Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

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Water And Sanitation Accessibility And The Health Of Rural Ugandans, Jonathan E. Mellor

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The lack of access to sufficient water and sanitation facilities is one of the largest hindrances towards the sustainable development of the poorest 2.2 billion people in the world. Rural Uganda is one of the areas where such inaccessibility is seriously hampering their efforts at development. Many rural Ugandans must travel several kilometers to fetch adequate water and many still do not have adequate sanitation facilities. Such poor access to clean water forces Ugandans to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy collecting water - time and energy that could be used for more useful endeavors. Furthermore, the difficulty …

Community Managed Rural Water Supply Systems In The Dominican Republic : Assessment Of Sustainability Of Systems Built By The National Institute Of Potable Water And Peace Corps, Dominican Republic , Ryan W. Schweitzer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In the Dominican Republic economic growth in the past twenty years has not yielded sufficient improvement in access to drinking water services, especially in rural areas where 1.5 million people do not have access to an improved water source (WHO, 2006). Worldwide, strategic development planning in the rural water sector has focused on participatory processes and the use of demand filters to ensure that service levels match community commitment to post-project operation and maintenance. However studies have concluded that an alarmingly high percentage of drinking water systems (20-50%) do not provide service at the design levels and/or fail altogether (up …

Heuristics In Decision Making, Fatima M. Albar, Antonie J. Jetter

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Heuristics are simple rules of thumbs for problem solving that follow a logic that is quite different from consequential logic. They have long been regarded, as an inferior technique for decision making that is the source of irrational decision behavior. Recently, decision making researchers have demonstrated that some heuristics are highly efficient and can compete with complex decision models in some application domains. This paper explores the different streams of research, summarizes the state of the art decision making model, and discusses its implications for complex decisions in engineering and technology management.

Assessment Of Target Purity Difference For A Louisiana Sugar Mill, Luz Stella Polanco

LSU Master's Theses

The main goals of a “raw” sugarcane factory are to have an efficient profitable operation with the required sugar quality and maximum sugar recovery. The loss of sugar to final molasses accounts for 45 to 47% of the total sugar losses. An estimation of the average cost of the manufacturing losses for the 2007 harvest season was approximately $9 million – the sugar lost to the final molasses accounts for approximately 50% of this cost (Salassi, 2008). For final molasses, the “Target Purity” (or equilibrium purity) refers to the minimum level of sucrose that theoretically remains in solution for a …

2008-2009 Che Newsletter, Department Of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Chemical Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• Department
• Faculty
• Research
• Alumni & Friends
• 2008 Industrial Advisory Board
• Convocation
• Student News

Coordinated Reactive Power Control Of A Large Wind Farm And A Statcom Using Heuristic Dynamic Programming, Wei Qiao, Ronald G. Harley, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel interface neurocontroller (INC) is proposed for the coordinated reactive power control between a large wind farm equipped with doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) and a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). The heuristic dynamic programming (HDP) technique and radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) are used to design this INC. It effectively reduces the level of voltage sags as well as the over-currents in the DFIG rotor circuit during grid faults, and therefore, significantly enhances the fault ride-through capability of the wind farm. The INC also acts as a coordinated external damping controller for the wind farm and the STATCOM, …

Localization And Surveillance Using Wireless Sensor Network And Pan/Tilt Camera, Pratikkumar U. Desai

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The ever growing challenges in hostile environments, health care and warzone require accurate indoor localization and surveillance. The de facto localization technique using GPS has poor indoor performance due to the complexity of the indoor environment. Other Radio frequency based indoor localization techniques are unable of accurate localization due to multipath fading.

In this thesis, a system consisting of Cricket wireless sensor motes, a camera and a Pan/Tilt gimbal is proposed to solve the indoor localization and surveillance problems. The system is easy to deploy, is cost effective and gives accurate results. The Crickets motes use the Time Difference of …

Genetic Differentiation In Ambystomatid Salamanders Across A Fragmented Landscape, Joseph E. Bartoszek

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

It is generally recognized that amphibian populations declining across the globe. Habitat loss is the primary cause of decline. The salamander family Ambystomatidae has experienced significantly more rapid decline than the average for amphibians. Coefficients of Conservatism (CoC) have been developed for amphibians in Ohio. These are based primarily on habitat requirements with high CoCs for amphibians with stringent habitat requirements (e.g. vernal pools associated with large, intact, undisturbed forest), and low CoCs for amphibians with less stringent habitat requirements. Genetic diversity in five species and one hybrid complex of ambystomatid salamander in southwest Ohio were examined and compared to …

Control Of Ipm Synchronous Generator For Maximum Wind Power Generation Considering Magnetic Saturation, Wei Qiao, Qu, Richard G. Harley

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Permanent-magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs) are commonly used for small variable-speed wind turbines to produce high-efficiency, high-reliability, and low-cost wind power generation. This paper proposes a novel control scheme for an interior PMSG (IPMSG) driven by a wind turbine, in which the d-axis and q-axis stator-current components are optimally controlled to achieve the maximum wind power generation and loss minimization of the IPMSG. The effect of magnetic saturation, which causes the highly nonlinear characteristics of the IPMSG, is considered in the control-scheme design. The optimal d-axis stator-current command is obtained as a function of the IPMSG rotor speed by solving a …

Egypt's Information Society Strategy: A Critical Lexicography, Neil Mcbride, Bernd Carsten Stahl

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The development of ICT policies within developing countries in the past ten years has opened up a new area for study. These documents chart the ambitions of the countries for the use of ICT to promote rapid development. As such they are intercultural documents, developing at the interface between the culture of the country and western economic culture. This paper develops a critical approach to understanding these documents and studying their message. The approach involves the preparation of a critical dictionary which identifies relevant terms within the ICT policy document and reflects on their multiple meanings. The approach was applied …

Development Of Measurement And Modeling Techniques To Quantify Atmospheric Deposition Of Persistent, Bioaccumulative And Toxic Chemicals In The Great Lakes, Mark D. Rowe

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Measurement and modeling techniques were developed to improve over-water gaseous air-water exchange measurements for persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs). Analytical methods were applied to atmospheric measurements of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Additionally, the sampling and analytical methods are well suited to study semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) in air with applications related to secondary organic aerosol formation, urban, and indoor air quality.

A novel gas-phase cleanup method is described for use with thermal desorption methods for analysis of atmospheric SOCs using multicapillary denuders. The cleanup selectively removed hydrogen-bonding chemicals from samples, including much of …

Identifying Indicators Of Sustainable Development Using The Global Sustainability Quadrant Approach , Andres B. Tarte

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Advances in information technology and global data availability have opened the door for assessments of sustainable development at a truly macro scale. It is now fairly easy to conduct a study of sustainability using the entire planet as the unit of analysis; this is precisely what this work set out to accomplish.

The study began by examining some of the best known composite indicator frameworks developed to measure sustainability at the country level today. Most of these were found to value human development factors and a clean local environment, but to gravely overlook consumption of (remote) resources in relation …

Development And Evaluation Of An Effective Process For The Recovery Of Oil And Detoxification Of Meal From Jatropha Curcas, Sarthak Gaur

Masters Theses

"There has been significant research on biofuels to ensure national security and economic stability of the US. Jatropha curcas, a hardy plant, holds tremendous potential as a biodiesel source and cattle feed-stock largely due to its high triglyceride and crude protein content. However, its viable economic utilization is limited due to the presence of important toxic compounds, phorbol esters. A novel and efficient process has been developed that obtains high yields of jatropha oil and detoxifies the defatted (oil free) jatropha meal. Principles of solid-liquid extraction were utilized to detoxify the meal and then liquid chromatography was employed to analyze …

Engineering Of A Single Alkaline Fuel Cell Part Ii: Long Term Operation In Air, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle, David Kennedy, Heinz Schmidt-Walter, Hans Kohnke, Steffen Schudt, Gerhard Sauer, James Hamilton

Articles

Research into renewable energy sources has previously lacked sufficient investment. However, emphasis has now shifted and funding is being made available in a proactive manner by various governments eager to encourage renewable energy technology and reduce carbon taxes. Fuel Cells offer a realistic, sustainable and clean alternative energy option for stationary and mobile applications. Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are recognised by many as possible long term energy solutions, but to-date, have failed to make an impact on the energy market. This is due to a number of key reasons, some of which include efficiency, scale, accessories and power output. …

Engineering Of A Single Alkaline Fuel Cell Part I: Construction Of A Test Bed, Jonathan Blackledge, James Brunton, Eugene Coyle, David Kennedy, Heinz Schmidt-Walter, Hans Kohnke, Gerhard Sauer, Steffen Schudt, James Hamilton

Articles

Fuel Cells offer a realistic, sustainable and clean alternative energy option for stationary and mobile applications. Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are recognised by many as possible long term energy solutions, but to-date have failed to make an impact on the energy market. This is due to a number of key reasons, some of which include, efficiency, scale, accessories and power output. Applying fuel cells to small telecommunication components requires the applications of Micro and Nanotechnology, which have yet to be perfected to make them long lasting and cost effective. This paper outlines the reasons for commercialisation of fuel cells …

Investigation Into The Hydrothermal Treatment Of Sugarcane Bagasse Under Near- And Supercritical Conditions, John E. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Processing biomass in near- and supercritical water has garnered increasing attention because of its ability to accept a variety of wet feedstocks, energy efficiency, and ability to regulate the solubility and separation of components. Very few studies of biomass hydrothermal conversion provide a comprehensive evaluation of multiple process parameters and various additives and their effects on a single product phase. This research examined the influence of temperature, residence time, biomass concentration, and particle size on volatiles production from the hydrothermal conversion of sugarcane bagasse. Temperature had the greatest impact on volatile yields with the largest increase (23 wt %) occurring …

Multicast Encryption Infrastructure For Security In Sensor Networks, Richard R. Brooks, Brijesh Pillai, Matthew Pirretti, Michele C. Weigle

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Designing secure sensor networks is difficult. We propose an approach that uses multicast communications and requires fewer encryptions than pairwise communications. The network is partitioned into multicast regions; each region is managed by a sensor node chosen to act as a keyserver. The keyservers solicit nodes in their neighborhood to join the local multicast tree. The keyserver generates a binary tree of keys to maintain communication within the multicast region using a shared key. Our approach supports a distributed key agreement protocol that identifies the compromised keys and supports membership changes with minimum system overhead. We evaluate the overhead of …

Creating A Software Marketplace For The Sme Community In The Irish Construction Industry, Alan V. Hore, Roger West, Alan Redmond

Conference papers

The Construction Industry is a sector where Information Communication Technology (ICT) and e-Business are used to a lesser extent than in most other sectors. The high concentration of Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the industry and the typical nature of the service provided, being an on-site and often highly customised service are generally identified as the reason for the low ICT uptake. The majority of Irish companies in the construction sector are SMEs. E-Business has provided the construction SME industry the opportunity to compete globally. The Construction IT Alliance (CITA) has identified a programme that can create a …

Real-Time Implementation Of A Statcom On A Wind Farm Equipped With Doubly Fed Induction Generators, Wei Qiao, Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Voltage stability is a key issue to achieve the uninterrupted operation of wind farms equipped with doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) during grid faults. This paper investigates the application of a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) to assist with the uninterrupted operation of a wind turbine driving a DFIG, which is connected to a power network, during grid faults. The control schemes of the DFIG rotor- and grid-side converters and the STATCOM are suitably designed and coordinated. The system is implemented in real-time on a Real Time Digital Simulator. Results show that the STATCOM improves the transient voltage stability and therefore …

Criticality Studies Of Actinides Within Fissures, Trevor Wilcox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The storage of nuclear waste in underground storage facilities presents numerous engineering challenges and risks. Experimental verification of engineered underground storage is impractical or prohibitively expensive, leaving scientists with few options. A 1995 report by Bowman and Venneri of the Los Alamos National Laboratory generated considerable controversy by hypothesizing that wastes composed of fissionable plutonium leached from underground storage containers could pose a nuclear criticality hazard. They proposed cases where plutonium collected in underground fractures could lead to sustained nuclear fission. In overmoderated cases, they argued that the resulting release of energy from fission could result in steam explosions, or …

Seven-Level Shunt Active Power Filter For High-Power Drive Systems, Peng Xiao, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Keith Corzine

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In high-power adjustable-speed motor drives, such as those used in electric ship propulsion systems, active filters provide a viable solution to mitigating harmonic related issues caused by diode or thyristor rectifier front-ends. To handle the large compensation currents and provide better thermal management, two or more paralleled semiconductor switching devices can be used. In this paper, a novel topology is proposed where two active filter inverters are connected with tapped reactors to share the compensation currents. The proposed active filter topology can also produce seven voltage levels, which significantly reduces the switching current ripple and the size of passive components. …

The Effects Of Water To Fuel Ratio On The Kinetics Of Supercritical Water Reformation Of Jet Fuel, Satya Putta

Masters Theses

"The noncatalytic direct reformation of jet fuel was studied in a supercritical water medium using a specially designed 400-mL Haynes® 230 alloy tubular reactor. The experiments were conducted at 1042±5 K, 240.9±0.1 bar, and at water flow rates of 7.5, 15, 30 g/min with varying water-to-fuel feed ratios of 7.5, 15 and 30. The principal reactions are direct reformation of jet fuel into hydrogen and carbon oxides and pyrolysis of jet fuel into lighter hydrocarbons and coke. The effluent gas contained H₂, CO, CO₂ and CH₄, with smaller concentrations of C₂H₄ and C₂H₆. This thesis discusses the effects of the …

Farming Systems Education: Case Study Of Swedish Test Pilots, Lennart Salomonsson, Anna Nilsson, Sofia Palmer, Adam Roigart, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

We describe and analyze a pedagogical experiment that introduced a broad and holistic perspective on complete farming systems, systemic learning tools, and a participatory learning strategy at an early stage in agronomy education. The paper describes the adventure of three students, who came from a conventional agronomy program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who were frustrated with the lack of integrated approaches to the study of agricultural systems and a strong focus on molecular-level processes in their first year of education. They encountered a narrow focus in most courses and the overall curricula of agricultural education that …

Sustainable Development Extension Plan (Sudex): Community Mobilization Through Proactive Participation And Synergistic Alliance To Alliviate Poverty And Achieve Sustainable Self Sufficiency, Stephen Forbes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation describes a sustainable development extension plan (Sudex Plan) to help communities in developing countries achieve Goal 1 of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Goal 1 focuses on reducing poverty and hunger by 50% by the year 2015, but all the MDG are interrelated and one can not be achieved without considering the others, and to attain any is an empty accomplishment without ways to ensure that they can be sustained and continuously improved with the means to pass on the information, knowledge and lessons learned from community to community, generation to generation. The Sudex Plan is …

Managing Risks Associated With The Jbcc(Principal Building Agreement) From Thesouth African Contractor’S Perspective, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Nishani Harinarain

Architectural Engineering

Construction is a complex and risky business. It is a time-consuming process involving a multitude of organisations with different objectives and skills. In addition, increasing client expectations coupled with the technological development of materials and equipment made the construction industry subject to more risks than any other industry. Contracts are essential tools for organising the relationship between involved parties and managing associated risk. For years the South African construction industry had a very poor reputation in managing construction risks. In order to improve the image of the South African construction industry and to assist contractors to develop their proper risk …

Survivable Mesh-Network Design & Optimization To Support Multiple Qop Service Classes, Hoang N. Nguyen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Every second, vast amounts of data are transferred over communication systems around the world, and as a result, the demands on optical infrastructures are extending beyond the traditional, ring-based architecture. The range of content and services available from the Internet is increasing, and network operations are constantly under pressure to expand their optical networks in order to keep pace with the ever increasing demand for higher speed and more reliable links.